4th Infantry Division - IVY
Activated 1 Jun 1940 • Entered Combat 6 Jun 44 D-Day • Days of Combat 299 • Casualties 22,660
Commanding Generals
Maj. Gen. Walter E. Prosser Jun 40
Maj. Gen. Lloyd R. Fredendall Oct 40
Maj. Gen. Oscar W. Griswold Aug 41
Maj. Gen. Harold R. Bull Oct 41
Maj. Gen. Terry de la Mesa Allen Dec 41
Maj. Gen. Fred C. Wallace Jan 42
Maj. Gen. Raymond 0. Barton Jul 42
Maj. Gen. Harold W. Blakeley Dec 44
Campaigns
Normandy 6 Jun 44 - 24 Jul 44
Northern France 25 Jul 44 - 14 Sep 44
Rhineland 15 Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45
Ardennes-Alsace 16 Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45
Central Europe 22 Mar 45 - 11 May 45
This campaign map shows the route of the 4th Infantry Division throughout Europe during World War II. This chart is available for purchase at HistoryShots.com.
DIVISION CHRONICLE
The 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Division was one of the first Allied units to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-day, 6 June 1944. Relieving the isolated 82d Airborne Division at Ste. Mere Eglise, the 4th cleared the Cotentin peninsula and took part in the capture of Cherbourg, 25 June.
After taking part in the fighting near Periers, 6-12 July, the Division broke through the left flank of the German Seventh Army, helped stem the German drive toward Avranches, and by the end of August had moved to Paris, assisting the French in the liberation of their capital. The 4th then moved into Belgium through Houffalize to attack the Siegfried Line at Schnee Eifel, 14 September, and made several penetrations.
Slow progress into Germany continued in October, and by 6 November the Division reached the Hurtgen Forest, where a severe engagement took place until early December. It then shifted to Luxembourg, only to meet the German winter offensive head-on, 16 December 1944. Although its lines were dented, it managed to hold the Germans at Dickweiler and Osweiler, and, counterattacking in January across the Sauer, overran German positions in Fouhren and Vianden.
Halted at the Prum in February by heavy enemy resistance, the Division finally crossed 28 February near Olzheim, and raced on across the Kyll, 7 March. After a short rest, the 4th moved across the Rhine 29 March at Worms, attacked and secured Wurzburg and by 3 April had established a bridgehead across the Main at Ochsenfurt. Speeding southeast across Bavaria, the Division had reached Miesbach on the Isar, 2 May 1945, when it was relieved and placed on occupation duty.
Division Organization
8th Infantry Regiment
12th Infantry Regiment
22d Infantry Regiment
4th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
4th Engineer Combat Battalion
4th Medical Battalion
29th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer)
42d Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer)
44th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer)
20th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer)
704th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
4th Quartermaster Company
4th Signal Company
Military Police Platoon
Headquarters Company
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery Division Artillery
4th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment
Headquarters Special Troops
70th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached)
610th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached)
776th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached)
801st Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached)
802nd Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached)
Date Activated is the date the division was activated or inducted into federal service (national guard units).
Casualties are number of killed, wounded in action, captured, and missing.
The dates after the campaign name are the dates of the campaign not of the division.
The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States; , U.S. Government Printing Office. Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report, 1 December 1941 - 31 December 1946. US Army Center of Military History at http://www.history.army.mil/ Various divisional histories